


i'll bring you sunshine

by fabulousfairytales



Series: The Schmico Advent Calendar 2018 [2]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Schmico, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 20:59:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16879086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabulousfairytales/pseuds/fabulousfairytales
Summary: It's Levi's first exam season working in the café when he noticed a new guy studying his ass off. And he was very handsome. | Day 6 of my Schmico Advent Calendar; gift for St. Nicholas Day!





	i'll bring you sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you all have found your way over here. :) As it is St. Nicholas Day, I wrote a little longer story as a gift for you. And since it's so long, I thought I'd post it seperately. I will link to it tomorrow in the other story. :) You can find the calendar [HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16799848/) .

At 3 am, even Levi got a little bit tired. He was used to those night shifts at the campus café, but he’d been up since 6 am to help his mom get the Christmas decoration from the basement. Then, he had lectures from 8 am till 7 pm and then at 10 pm, his shift started. It was his second year and he was already exhausted. He hoped that the stress would go down a little bit, but with Christmas being near, work needed him more than ever and exams were piling up. He was glad for getting all the night shifts, since there wasn’t much do except cleaning and re-fills for students pulling an all-nighter. At least he got some time to study for his own exams.

Tonight, there were only two people sitting in the café. One was a regular who, Levi had learned, worked better at night and a new guy. Or maybe he wasn’t so new. Maybe Levi was the new one. This was his first exam season working here so who knew how often that attractive new guy had been here before. _Attractive_?

He shook his head before going back to studying organic chemistry. He got so into the subject matter that he didn’t notice the new guy standing in front of him at the counter, watching him for a few moments, before clearing his throat to get his attention.

Levi’s head snapped back up and his cheeks turned red in embarrassment.

“I – I’m so sorry, uh, what can I do for you?” He quickly asked, not being able to look away from those dark soft eyes of the man in front of him. He looked really… perfect. His face, perfect. His hair, perfect. That body, wow, perfect. He looked like he jumped out of a magazine. And now Levi realized that he was starting. He quickly looked away, but then he realized that this was weird too, so he quickly looked back into those eyes. And then he realized that the man’s perfect full lips were moving and the second he heard that deep voice, he knew it was over.

His gay ass had the biggest instant crush on that guy he’d ever thought was possible.

“I – I’m sorry, what did you say?” He managed to get out, causing the man to smile. Wow. The smile of a thousand suns.

“I said that I came here for a re-fill since you were so deep into your notes. So, what are you studying?” The man asked and leaned against the counter, his arm resting on top of the display case. He was breathtakingly beautiful. Levi didn’t trust his voice, so he took a sip of coffee before holding up the folder of his notes. However, he forgot that he hadn’t closed it yet, causing all the notes to fall out and cover the whole floor. Oh god, why?

“Shit. I-I’m s-so sorry,” Levi stammered and walked around the counter to quickly pick up the sheets. The man squatted down and helped Levi. When the floor was cleared up again, he gave Levi the rest of his notes, brushing Levi’s fingers lightly and grinning at him, almost causing Levi to let them all fall down again.

“So? What do you study?” He asked again and looked at one of the notes. Oh, he recognized that sheet. Organic chemistry.

“I’m in pre-med, but technically organic chemistry. Second year. And you?” Levi asked, very proud of not stuttering this time.

“Organic chemistry, huh? I chose that too. I’m in my first year of med school. Last exam season before my internship,” he man explained and extended his hand, “By the way, I’m Nico.”

“Uh, Levi,” he replied and shook Nico’s hand. However, neither of them wanted to let go.

With every other person, it would’ve felt very weird, but somehow Nico’s touch made him feel giddy and calm at the same time. Maybe it was just his brain being tired and not noticing what was going on.

Levi snapped out of it when the other customer was calling for him, asking for another re-fill. Levi excused himself quickly from Nico and went over to fill up the cup again. He shook his head. What was going on with that new guy? He didn’t even know him and yet, his presence felt so… familiar and calm. He had no explanation for it.

He smiled when he saw that Nico was still standing at the counter, presumably waiting for him? His heart started to flutter and he had to tell himself to calm down.

“So, do you usually work the night shift?” Nico asked when Levi had returned to the counter.

“I uh, yeah. Yeah, I do. It’s actually really cool since I can study when there’s not much going on.”

“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting you then.

Levi chuckled, “Don’t be silly, that’s my job.”

“Sure, then how about that refill?“ He asked and winked.

Levi’s heart began racing and he almost knocked over the to-go coffee cups. He just nodded quickly and turned away to grab the coffee pot, following Nico to his table and filling up the empty cup. He was proud that he didn’t spill anything, because he was sure that his whole body was shaking right now.

Apparently, Nico had picked up on that too, because he could feel the man’s hand on his’ again.

“Are you okay? Maybe you need to sit down for a minute and take a break?” Nico asked worried.

Who was this man? He didn’t even know him and yet he was so nice and caring.

“Don’t worry, I’m good,” he replied with a smile and wanted to instantly slap himself. That could’ve been his chance to be next to Nico and stay a little bit longer instead of awkwardly standing around like somebody who doesn’t know social cues. He quickly excused himself to go back to the counter and clean a few cups in the back.

What was he even doing? Why was he acting like a 14 year-old boy that was too afraid to talk to their crush. He didn’t even know this guy, how in the world would he – He looked around the corner to watch Nico for a second, whose concentration was on the papers in front of him, and he smiled.

Fuck. He did have a crush.

-

“So what would be an inconspicuous excuse to come up here again to talk to you?” Nico asked nonchalant, avoiding eye contact at first, but then smirking at the cashier.

“Uhhhh.” Great. Levi’s brain was out. Nico had taken off the sweater and was now standing in front of him with a very tight-fitting v-neck. It was only then that Levi noticed the man’s muscly arms. He was sure that Nico could just pick him up like that.

“Maybe I should get a piece of pie. That would be an excellent reason to come up here just to look at you and your very, very cute face, right?” Levi’s mouth gaped open in shock for a moment and he didn’t know what to say, but he also didn’t want this to end so he just nodded slightly, without seeing what kind of pie he was pointing at.

“I’m so sorry, are you even gay? I did not want to make you feel uncomfortable –“ Nico asked carefully. Maybe he misread the signs?

“What? Ohh, yes sure, I am very gay. Like, so gay, the gayest of them all. Maybe not really of them all, but you get the picture. I’m a very gay gay. You could almost say I’m an advanced gay. Uhhh – You know what? I’m gonna stop now. Uhhh, yeah?” Levi babbled. Wow. Could he just for once be chill? Like normal people? Like Nico?

The man was laughing softly. But it wasn’t in a mean-spirited way. More in an oh-god-you’re-so-cute-way. And it made Levi feel even warmer inside. Why was this man able to make him feel so many things?

“An advanced gay, huh?” Nico chuckled, “Alright, what kind of pie do you recommend?

“Uhh, today’s special is uhm, bumbleberry pie! Do you want a piece?” Levi asked, praying that his heart would just stop beating so fast.

“Hmm, I have to think about that a little bit. I guess that means that… I’ll have to come back here later, huh?” He winked again and went back to his table, grinning to himself.

-

“Alright, so I’m ready to get that pie of yours,” Nico winked as he came up to the counter. He really enjoyed making Levi nervous like that. It’s just that the man was so cute already. And when he was nervous, he would blush, and it was even cuter.

“M-my pie?” Levi asked confused, looking up from his notes.

“The pie you recommended earlier,” Nico refreshed his memory. That made Levi gasp and jump up, huddling over to get a plate to put the pie on. He set the plate on the counter so that he could take the money from Nico and stuff it into the register.

“You didn’t have to hurry, I like looking at you,” Nico added with a grin before taking two forks from the tray in front of him.

“How about you stop by later at my table? We could share it.” He winked again before going back to his booth.

Levi already knew that he had fallen for this man. And he had fallen hard.

-

Nico has become a regular. He would show up at 1.30 am, sit in the same booth and stay until Levi’s shift was over. Nico was nice. He was also very attractive, making Levi feel a constant mixture of being at ease and nervousness. It was weird. But it also caused him to look forward to his shifts. Now even more than ever.

“Refill?” he asked. Nico just nodded. Something was off, Levi could feel that. He filled up the cup and returned to his notes. Usually, he would’ve come up to the counter already, asking which pie Levi would recommend today and flirt with him for a little while before going back to study.

But today he didn’t do any of those things. Levi tilted his head to the side. Something was up. He could feel it. He didn’t have to know what it was that occupied Nico’s mind, but he sure as hell could try to cheer him up a little.

He returned with a piece of apple pie, two forks and a cup of cappuccino for himself and sat down right next to Nico.

“One slice of apple pie on the house. Well, as long as you let me have a small bite,” Levi said while picking up a fork. The other man looked up from his papers and gave him a tired smile.

“Thanks,“ he muttered and took the other fork, getting some pie on it and put it into his mouth, chewing listless. He wished he could be more enthusiastic about this, but today has just been terrible. He sighed and put the fork down again. Looking at Levi, he could see the worry on his face.

“Hey, are you okay?” The younger man asked, lightly touching Nico’s hand, “I’m not trying to pry anything out of you, I’m just saying if you want to talk about something… Well, you can talk to me. We got all night and I’m an excellent listener,” he offered, gently squeezing Nico’s hand.

The man just nodded. He didn’t know what to say to that. Levi was really something. He was so kind. And compassionate. He felt like he could tell him anything without being judged or getting side-eyed.

“Thanks,” he eventually said, not wanting Levi to take away his hand. It felt good. It was only in that moment that he realized how touch-starved he actually had become in the past few months. It has been years since his last real relationship. And random hook-ups didn’t fill that void.

“It’s just… My cat is sick. And she has to stay at the clinic overnight and I’m really worried about her,” he explained and looked down at their hands. He felt Levi’s other hand on his forearm and sighed.

“I’m sorry. I’m sure she’s going to be fine. What’s her name?”

“It’s Kali. I’ve had her since she was a little kitten and now she’s 11 years old. I – I just love my little fur baby.” Levi nodded and slid his hand up to Nico’s shoulder and squeezing it softly.

Nico exhaled slowly, “I know I probably sound ridiculous, but –“

“No,” Levi interrupted, “I don’t think that. Don’t worry.”

Silence fell between them and they slowly ate the pie. Levi let his hand glide down Nico’s arm to rest it on his hand again. He looked at Nico’s notes and smiled.

“So, how’s med-school treating you?” Nico looked up again and returned Levi’s smile. He appreciated the attempt to lighten the mood.

“It’s hell. But the best kind of hell, really.”

“I can only imagine.”

-

“How’s Kali?” Levi asked when he sat down next to Nico. It was his first day back after being off for a few days. And weirdly, he had missed work. Okay, he hadn’t missed work itself. More like one aspect of it. As in the customers. One customer.

Okay, he had missed Nico. Plain simple.

He was pathetic.

“Kali’s great. Thank god. She’s purring very happily again. Here, let me show you.” He pulled out his phone from his pocket and showed Levi a video of his black cat being petted by him. He smiled proud like the good cat dad that he was.

“Oh my god, she’s so cute. And she looks so fluffy,” Levi whispered, the cuteness of that animal had taken over his ability to speak any louder. This cat was so precious.

“Maybe you could meet her,” Nico suggested with a smirk, causing Levi’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“Meet her? As, as in – I uh…”

“Yes,” Nico confirmed. Levi’s mouth gaped open in shock for a moment, before he closed it again, still not knowing what to say. To his luck, there was a new customer coming in.

-

There was an unusual increase in customers around 3 am and Levi didn’t know why it was happening. He just knew that there was a fucking line that even reached outside. He needed back up, but there was no time to call around and ask people to come in. Also, it was 3 am.

“Nico?” He called out. The other man looked up from his notes in confusion. When did all these people get in here? He saw Levi motioning him to come to the counter, so he got up and hurried over.

“What the hell happened here?” He asked confused.

“I don’t know, but I need you to call my boss and ask if he can send somebody here,” Levi explained and gave Nico his unlocked phone, “He’s saved as ‘Coffee Lord’. Please don’t ask. I would call him myself, but I have literally no free hand.”

“Of course I will, don’t worry.”

“Thanks.” Levi gave him a smile and turned back around to talk to the next customer.

-

Fifteen minutes later, there still was no end of the line to see and Levi hoped that back up would come soon. He saw Nico coming back with a smile on his face and exhaled in relief.

However, when Nico walked around the counter, on his way to the back, he was majorly confused.

“What are you – Nico?,” he excused himself quickly and followed the other man.

“What are you doing? You can’t be here –“ Nico cut him off by grabbing Levi’s shoulders in an attempt to stop him from freaking out.

“I can. Don’t worry, I used to work here. Apparently, there was a surprise concert of some big-ish artist. And since the boss man couldn’t reach anyone at this time, he hired me for a few hours,” he explained, grabbing one of the purple aprons. Levi cocked his head to the side.

“You used to work here?”

“Yes. And now go back to the front, I’m coming in a few seconds when I have defeated this apron,” he ordered with a grin, fiddling with the strings of the thing.

Levi nodded, but then took the apron into his own hands and helped Nico putting it on. Standing right behind him, he tied together the lower strings at Nico’s lower back and then reached around to get the upper strings and loosely tying them at the neck. The taller man shivered a little bit when Levi’s warm fingers touched his neck. It just felt so good.

-

An hour later, they had finally defeated the line and the café was empty again. Nico was cleaning the espresso machine while Levi was watching him. The man was full of surprises, and Levi wanted to know about all of them. He was so fascinated by Nico that he didn’t even notice the beeping of the oven.

“Hey, can you get the pies? I’m not finished here yet.” Nico’s voice got his attention again and he quickly nodded before huddling back into the kitchen to get the baked goods out.

What was he even doing here? He should just go up to Nico and finally ask him out. It’s been almost two weeks. He nodded.

Determined, he went to the counter again where Nico had just finished cleaning the machine.

“Hey.” Good. Hey was a good word. Yes. Levi stood right in front of him. Maybe even a little bit too close, because now he had to look up quite a bit. He didn’t mind it though. He liked this. Very much. Standing in Nico’s personal space without being told to back off was a good sing. At least he hoped so.

“Hey,” Nico replied, his voice even deeper than usual. Levi fought hard to stand. He wasn’t sure if he was just imagining things, but he could feel Nico’s hands on his hip which made his heart flutter. He didn’t dare looking down in case it wasn’t real, or Nico would take it as a sign that he didn’t like it.

He tried to get his voice back, but standing so close to Nico made it really hard. He took a deep breath before he finally looked up into Nico’s dark brown eyes. He felt like he had to do something to show confidence, so he put his hands on Nico’s shoulders and smiled.

“Go out with me,” he whispered and let his hands glide to the back of the other man’s neck, lightly brushing his hair.

Nico smiled, “I thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for reading this! Comments are very cool. I like them :)  
> [HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16799848/) is the rest of the calendar.  
> @orthoglasses is my tumblr, so if you want to follow me, you could do that.


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